£23m announced for road repairs in the North East

Motorists in the North East will benefit from better roads due to an extra £23million for repairs, Roads Minister Jesse Norman announced today.

The Department for Transport has revealed the regional breakdown of the £420million announced during last month’s Budget, which brings the total funds for North East roads for this year to over £76million.

Next year (2019-2020), the North East will get £60million from the Local Highways Maintenance and Integrated Transport Block funds, which will go towards repairing roads and investing in small safety, bus priority or walking and cycling schemes.

Roads Minister Jesse Noman said: “Potholes are a huge problem for all road users, and too often we see issues occurring at the same place time after time.

“That is why the Government is investing more in improving our roads than at any time before - £15billion between 2015 and 2020 and a further £28.8billion to 2025. Plus an immediate extra £420million for potholes and local road maintenance just this year.

“The North East will be getting an extra £23million this winter to keep its roads in good condition to keep drivers and cyclists safe.”

Since 2015, roads in the North East have benefited from £185million for highways maintenance, in addition to widening the A1 from Leeming to Barton to create a motorway from Newcastle to London, the Morpeth bypass and A19 improvements.

The North East Combined Authority (NECA) has also been shortlisted for the Transforming Cities Fund. NECA is developing a business plan in a bid for a share of £860 million to make it easier, safer and quicker for people to travel and get to work by funding improved transport connections.